A PROLIFIC thief arrested for wearing a balaclava and gloves arrived at court in a burkha to protest his innocence.

Posing for pictures outside Cannock Magistrates Court, Walsall man David Holmes said: “I’m not against the burkha, it’s the principle. Why can I wear this and not a balaclava?

“It’s the same thing. The police only arrested me because of my previous convictions. They are abusing their powers,” he added.

The 30-year-old construction worker was asked to remove the Islamic garment by the court clerk as he entered the dock.

He was subsequently found not guilty of ‘being equipped for theft’ after magistrates accepted his defence that he only wore the balaclava to annoy police.

The court heard that Holmes, of Beechdale, Walsall, was arrested just before midnight on July 20 after being spotted on CCTV cameras in Cannock shopping centre in a balaclava and gloves, accompanied by a male friend.

Police chased the two men through the town centre but only managed to catch Holmes.

He was not found to be carrying any tools, such as a screwdriver or hammer, associated with burglary.

Holmes said he purposefully wore the balaclava to antagonise police who had been “harassing” him since he was released from prison in May.

The seasoned convict, who admitted before court that he had been charged with around 60 offences during his lifetime, had been most recently serving a 16-month jail term for conspiracy to burgle.

He said that since his release, police had raided his home twice, stopped and searched his car five times and repeatedly knocked on his door at 4am to make sure he was not breaking his curfew.

“I was even stopped on my way to court today,” Holmes told the court. “It’s caused my a lot of stress.

“I wanted to get back at the police. It’s common knowledge there are at least 30 CCTV cameras in Cannock so I deliberately walked around there in a balaclava.